Lean over the pit. What you see is the only survivor of the Marrakech founded by the Almoravids in 1070: a small dome that lay hidden for centuries.

1A dynasty erased

The Koubba was built under the emir Ali ibn Yusuf, probably around 1125, and most likely served as an ablutions pavilion for the great mosque he built next door. When the Almohads took the city in 1147, they branded their predecessors heretics and demolished or remodelled almost all their buildings. Ali ibn Yusuf's mosque was rebuilt several times and keeps nothing of its origins.

The Koubba survived by chance: the ground level rose over the centuries and the dome was buried. French researchers recorded it in 1947, and later the excavations led by Henri Terrasse and Jacques Meunié freed it from seven to eight metres of debris.

2A treasure of Almoravid art

The exterior shows lobed, interlacing arches; the inside of the dome, visible from the entrance, has carved plant decoration and four small muqarnas vaults in the corners, among the oldest in Morocco. An inscription mentions Ali ibn Yusuf.

What history tried to erase, the earth preserved.

3What to look for

  • The depth at which the building sits: that was the city's ground level in the 12th century.
  • The interlacing arches on the dome.
  • The stepped merlons along the top.
The Almoravid Koubba seen from above, in its sunken pit
The Koubba sits several metres below today's street level.

Documented

The Koubba was built under Ali ibn Yusuf in the early 12th century, recorded in 1947 and excavated under the direction of Henri Terrasse and Jacques Meunié.

Sources and credits

Jacques Meunié and Henri Terrasse, «Nouvelles recherches archéologiques à Marrakech» (1957); Jonathan M. Bloom, «Architecture of the Islamic West» (2020); Moroccan Ministry of Culture, Koubba Ba'adiyn record.

Photos:

  • Almoravid dome with lobed arches and merlons, a minaret behind: Michal Osmenda, CC BY-SA 2.0.
  • The Almoravid Koubba seen from above, in its sunken pit: Adam Harangozó, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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